Monday, August 17, 2009

Notes to a terrorist....

Guys.... this is far more important than Srk's rants. **********************************The media should ignore this terrorist, not turn the spotlight on him.Remember the guy who got on a plane in the US with a bomb built into his shoeand tried to light it? Did you know his trial is over? Did you know he was sentenced? Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio? Didn't think so.Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.________________________________Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for therecord, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.Judge Young: 'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you..On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Courtimposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 toAmerican Airlines.The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the lawrequires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not, you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: 'You're no big deal.'You are no big deal.What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young.

27 comments:

Couldn't agree more with you Shobhaa. Seriously the whole ordeal is completely blow out of proportion... my sentiments: http://roshnis-right-to-write.blogspot.com/2009/08/standing-up-for-regular-khans.html

Our judges in India have taken some good stand againt riches like Nanda case or shiani bhatnagar and Neetish katara case.They have proved that justice prevails and the power of riches can not over rule law and freedom.I thought that India has started coming up but your post makes me as if we have still long way to go.They way Kasab case is dealt is utterly shameful.

Really powerful observations by the judge. US is the only big country that stands up to terrorists of all types physically. Their political compulsions are not as strong and as pucca. While in US, it is the cop or security who is the supreme force, not his political masters. Unlike India. If we understand this basic fact, you can enjoy your visits to US. Do muslims apart our highness SRK are under scrutiny? It seems their policy is, better to be right at the correct time than sorry afterwards. They check and double check nervous and awkward passengers of all religions and they check muslims more. Because most of the muslims profess that US is their biggest enemy. All muslims including our highness say that their religion preaches peace, but facts speak otherwise. Have you heard Jews, Hindus, Christians,Budhdhists or other religionists say as often that their religion preaches peace? And terrorism is not confined to any one group. There are terrorists which every religion breeds like LTTE, ULFA, IRA and other innumerable fringe groups. And muslims, before blaming US, must not forget that US denied visa to our Modi because of Gujarat riots which killed thousands of muslims.Using minority card when it suits is not the done thing.

Well said Judge! Although I dont entirely agree with the foreign policy of USA and the way they have dealt with terrorism, but India needs to learn from this judgement. We are feeding kasab biryani and kebabs and the case drags. Our judicial system and mindset needs a drastic change. Thanks Shobha for this piece, shall pass it along.

A wellspoken Judge. Very profound speech and a brilliant analysis that he did on the causes for terrorism. And yes we should learn from them that media is what terrorism needs to thrive and we have the power to deny them that!

@kala - I really wanted to see ur profile. Not out of curiosity but to see if u r trying to just grab eyeballs by posting a comment that simply reeks of religious observations or are in a desperate need of more readers or followers for ur blog. But alas it was blocked. So cant really make anything out yet. But a quick suggestion : DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GO TAKE A BREAK!

It is not a question of grabbing eyeballs or eyelashes. Whether we like it or not, religion and fanaticism plays great role in our lives. For your information, I dont have ablog and I am too lazy for that. How long can one be politically correct and shut one's eyes?Why do you read my comments in the first place? I am in no mood to take a break. Stop giving unasked for advice.LTTE was the mother of all terrorist organisations. Sri Lanka had to be ruthless to root it out. And it was limited to one country helped.

t is not a question of grabbing eyeballs or eyelashes. Whether we like it or not, religion and fanaticism play a great role in our lives. For your information, I dont have a blog and I am too lazy for that. How long can one be politically correct and shut one's eyes?Why do you read my comments in the first place? I am in no mood to take a break. Stop giving unasked for advice.LTTE was the mother of all terrorist organisations. Sri Lanka had to be ruthless to root it out. And it was limited to one country helped.

Thanks Shobhaa..for this write-up. Our judicial system overall seems to be too slow in most of the cases, with very few exceptions. Kasab's case is still dragged, despite the very fact that there are numerous eyewitnesses against him. He had been caught on viseo cams shooting at people at CST. Still India awaits his sentence. This judgement in US is something we should learn from.

This should reach each and every terrorist out there. They need to sort out their own homes first. What sort of freedom do they enjoy in their own countries?? About US, whether we like it or hate it, at the end of the day everyone wants to be there. They really know how to value freedom(in their own country).

Freedom is but the right to be yourself with yourself and the society...

A clear propaganda has been expressed by the judge...

But I think the reason behind such hard core terrorists is not that they are afraid of the freedom of USA... (It looks good when he says so.. but real reasons differ)

Circumstances make terrorists... Does the statement sound naive... May be but think about it for a second...

Dont you really think so...

I mean.. Lets say that there is this guy who is starving.. In the verge of death, If you promise him to feed him, I think he would gladly become your follower(the least he will care is whether you are a terrorist or not -- self preservation comes first after all).

So when people say terrorist must be shot... They are just too naive... The situations must be improved. Easy said than done. But until we do so.. U tell me, how are we gonna stop the terrorists.... With bombs & bullets.. Stop kidding yourself.

& I think we people ignore the motive point of the terrorists--

If we want to put an end to them, we will have to know what motivates them.

I would like to quote bhagat singh here..

"If we ignore the motive, the biggest general of the words will appear like ordinary murderers; revenue officers will look like thieves and cheats. Even judges will be accused of murder. This way the entire social system and the civilization will be reduced to murders, thefts and cheating. If we ignore the motive, the government will have no right to expect sacrifice from its people and its officials. Ignore the motive and every religious preacher will be dubbed as a preacher of falsehoods, and every prophet will be charged of misguiding crores of simple and ignorant people."

We cannot place all the terrorists in one platform and say -- OK lets crush them. They are not worth living.

We will have to eliminate the motive for the terrorists stop terrorism..

An after thought--

I am not supporting any terrorist group but -- It's easy to weed when the plants haven't still taken root....

& I qouted Bhagat singh just to emphasize that motive is important to look and Analise....

hi Shoba pls send me your email id .. i need you to watch a clip on the sept 11... and coment on that... and pls forward it if u can and let the world know... the truth.. i will wait for your mail. my id zahidinindia@gmail.com. god bless all......

@Kala... May Peace be upon You.. I am a Muslim in US and travel frequently and around 2 out of 10 times was stopped for further screening... I know, in few instances that Pilots refused to fly when they couldn't take the risk of flying and told certain Sikh or Muslim or Jewish or Hindu passengers to get off the aircraft... Your statistics is correct because there are more than a billion Muslims living in 48 Muslim countries. These Muslims are refused many basics including education/knowledge that preaches Islam as a peaceful religion by their rulers. There are many organizations that will use this opportunity to recruit these people to carry on their ideology. Let us work together to educate these people and their rulers!!! Peace...

powerfull and thought provoking.....cund not agree more with the statement.......a terriost is not a soldier the cause does not justy it at all.........and yes freedom is at stake at every point in any society....... luvd it thx for exposing our minds to such moving thoughts.......u r a friend, teacher, guide......

Now this is the stuff that people should read. We sure do need judges like Judge Young. Maybe we already do. But with cases and red tape stretching them out into eons, not years, how is it possible for such judges in India to be that way?

mz de, your efforts are appreciated and i have read the judge's verdict with real sadness. it is a sign of our times that the srk post got thrice as many comments as this. we have to look terrorists in the face and remind them that they are murderers.

However, there is another form of terrorism in India. Thousands of members of religious minorities are butchered during massacres organised by certain political entities and then members of the religious majority vote for such political entities in huge numbers as a reward for the killings, so that they go on to become members of parliament or state-legislative assemblies. Some even become ministers in the central or state governments.

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